Knox County, Tennessee
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its 2007 population was estimated at 423,874 by the United States Census Bureau. Its county seat is Knoxville, as it has been since the creation of the county. The county is at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee. Near the heart of the county is the origin of the Tennessee River at the union of the Holston and French Broad Rivers. The county is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. History Knox County was created on June 11, 1792 by Governor William Blount from parts of Greene and Hawkins counties, and has the distinction of being one of only eight counties created during territorial administration. It is one of nine United States counties named for Revolutionary War general and first United States Secretary of War Henry Knox. Parts of Knox County later became Blount (1795), Anderson (1801), Roane (1801), and Union (1850) counties. In 1786 James White built a fort five miles (8 km) below the junction of the French Broad and Holston Rivers on the southernmost edge of frontier settlement in present-day East Tennessee. William Blount, governor of the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio, selected the site of James White's Fort as the territorial capital in 1791. He gave it the name Knoxville in honor of his direct superior as territorial governor, Revolutionary War hero General Henry Knox (1750–1806), who served as the first U.S. Secretary of War from 1785 to 1794. Governor Blount designated Knoxville as the capital of the Territory South of the River Ohio from 1791 to 1796. Knoxville also served as the capital of the State of Tennessee from 1796 to 1812, with the exception of one day in 1807, when the legislature met in Kingston to fulfill a treaty obligation with the Cherokee, and briefly again in 1817-18. Frontier leader General John Sevier, a resident of Knox County, served as governor of Tennessee from 1796 to 1801 and 1803 to 1809, most of Knoxville's years as the state capital. Since no state capitol building was constructed until 1845, when work began on the capitol building in Nashville, the general assembly met in taverns and public buildings. The William Blount Mansion (1792), the home of Territorial Governor Blount, is the most historically significant dwelling surviving in Knox County from the pre-statehood era. It is the only National Historic Landmark in the county. The Civil War Knox County's strategic location along important railroad lines made it an area coveted by both Union and Confederate forces throughout the Civil War. Since the mountainous terrain of East Tennessee was mostly unsuitable for plantation crops such as cotton, slavery was not as prevalent as it was in Middle and West Tennessee - an 1860 census of Knox County showed a population of 20,020 white citizens and just 2,370 enslaved African Americans. The lack of slavery combined with the vestiges of a once strong abolitionist movement in the region were two of the reasons that Knox County, along with much of East Tennessee, contained a great deal of pro-Union sentiment. However, there were family and other social ties which contributed to strong pro-Confederate sentiment as well. East Tennessee saw many of the "brother vs. brother" conflicts. Prior to secession, Unionists from Knox County collaborated with other East Tennessee Unionists in an attempt to secede from Tennessee itself and remain part of the Union. O.P. Temple of Knox County was named to a 3-person commission that was to appear before the General Assembly in Nashville and request the secession of East Tennessee and pro-Union Middle Tennessee counties from the state. The attempt failed. Knox County joined the Confederacy along with the rest of Tennessee after the second referendum for secession in 1861. Knox County remained under Confederate control until September 3, 1863, when General Ambrose Burnside and the Union army marched into Knoxville unopposed. Union Colonel William Harris, son of New York Senator Ira Harris, sent his father this message in regards to Knox County's capture: With the success of Burnside's troops during the Knoxville Campaign, and especially during the decisive Battle of Fort Sanders, Knox County remained under Union control for the duration of the Civil War. Government The government of Knox County, Tennessee operates under a home rule format. The county administrator, formerly known as the County Executive, is called the County Mayor. There is also an elected county commission. The county officials' districts do not correspond with those of the city of Knoxville, which has its own mayor and city council. Residents of the county living within Knoxville city limits vote in both city and county elections, are represented by city and county mayors, and pay city and county taxes. While the administration appears to be duplicated, services tend to be separated. Knox County runs the local school and library systems. Knoxville maintains police department independent of the county sheriff. The property assessor's office, tax offices, and the Metropolitan Planning Commission are combined between the city and county governments. County Government Controversies P-Card Controversy In June 2007, an audit of Knox County's purchasing card program revealed a number of questionable charges to county government credit cards at taxpayer expense, including a cruise, lobster dinners, and other personal expenses that led to the resignation of two executive assistants and the county's finance director. The controversy prompted Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale to revoke about 160 of the so-called P-Cards, leaving 12 for the county's executive branch and about 170 more spread throughout the government's other branches. It also spurred a number of audits looking into P-Card usage, including a citizen's audit of the program. On May 20, 2008, the Knox County Commission voted 13-4-2 to have Mayor Ragsdale and other administrative personnel repay any misappropriated funds. The mayor was also formally censured by the body, marking the first time in county history that this action had ever been taken. Black Wednesday and the Sunshine Law Trial In 1994, Knox County voters passed term limits on Knox County officeholders, including County Commission, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, the County Clerk, and the County Trustee’s office. For thirteen years, these officeholders did not abide by term limits. On January 12, 2007, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that term-limited officeholders would not be able to serve again once their terms expired. On January 31, 2007, the County Commission voted to appoint 12 replacements for these officeholders. Appointees included relatives and associates of outgoing commissioners.Knoxville News Sentinel, “Backroom Deals,” February 1, 2007 Some of the appointments and events that occurred during the January 31 commission meeting include: * Outgoing commissioner Diane Jordan nominated her son, Josh to replace her, and voted for him. Two days after the appointment, it was revealed that Josh Jordan had admitted to drug dealing in 1992. * Commissioner Mark Cawood's wife, Sharon, replaced him in District 6. * Commissioner Billy Tindell was appointed to the position of County Clerk. He was replaced in District 2 by Chuck Bolus. Bolus was nominated for the seat by Commission Chairman Scott Moore's and served as treasurer for Moore's Commission campaign in 2006. * Commissioner Craig Leuthold's father, Frank, was appointed to the vacant seat in District 5. * Outgoing Sheriff Tim Hutchison nominated his chief deputy, J. J. Jones, to replace him. Jones then hired Hutchison back as his chief deputy. * Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale allegedly had his aides try to convince commissioners to change their votes, raising accusations of the mayor's attempts to circumvent Tennessee's Open Meetings Law. * Appointed Commissioner Richard Cate was sworn in as a Fourth District Commissioner to break a tie for the other Fourth District seat. Cate was later found to have been accused of sexual harassment allegedly occurring in 2000 and 2001 by Sherry Michael, a former employee of Windsor Gardens Assisted Living. Cate was a minority owner of Windsor Gardens at the time. In a lawsuit filed in Federal Court in 2002, Michael alleged that she and Cate participated in an extramarital affair beginning in the spring of 2000 and ended by Michael in July 2001. Michael was fired shortly thereafter by Windsor Gardens. Michael later sued, alleging sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and violations of Tennessee's human rights laws. In 2004, the jury found in favor of Michael. * Second District nominee Jonathan Wimmer alleged that Sixth District Commissioner Greg "Lumpy" Lambert asked him to vote for Fourth District nominee Lee Tramel in exchange for a seat. Wimmer refused. The appointment process was challenged in court by the Knoxville News-Sentinel and a group of citizens represented by local attorney Herbert S. Moncier as a violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, or "Sunshine Law". In early October 2007, the jury hearing the case found that the Open Meetings Act was violated during the appointment process. Citizens' Response to Controversies The Knox County government controversies of 2007 were credited with spurring renewed voter interest in governmental operations, including a marked increase in voter registration and the formation of at least two citizen-driven initiatives aimed at amending the county's Charter. Knox County-One Question was chaired by Dr. Joe Johnson of the University of Tennessee and wished to introduce several changes to the Knox County Charter. These changes included: * Giving the county Mayor the ability to appoint the current elected offices of Trustee, Clerk, Register of Deeds, Property Assessor, and Law Director *Reducing the size of County Commission from 19 members to 11 (one for each district plus two county-wide seats) *Establishing an independent Office of Inspector General to replace the current Office of Internal Audit The group also proposed changes to the current ethics policy of the Knox County government, many of which were being discussed by the Commission as of November 2007. The Knox County Recall Amendment Drive was formed in October 2007 to create a recall provision in the Knox County Charter via referendum in August 2008. On November 6, 2007, the group obtained the support of county Mayor Mike Ragsdale, who signed their petition to the Commission urging that the amendment be placed by the Commission on the ballot in 2008. In November 2007, the proposed amendment was brought to Commission by the group, supported by Second District Commissioner Mark Harmon and Sixth District Commissioner Greg Lambert. The group was headed by local resident Brian Paone and included a number of community activists, such as local community activist Lisa Starbuck, president of the Knoxville-Knox County League of Women Voters Nan Scott, and Gary Sellers, who led a successful petition drive in 2004 to call a referendum on the county's wheel tax. On December 17, 2007, the commission approved an ordinance to place the recall amendment on the August 2008 ballot. The amendment was approved by county voters in August 2008 with over 78% approval. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.29%) is water. Cherokee Caverns Cherokee Caverns is located 14 miles west of Knoxville on Highway 62. It was discovered in 1854 by Robert Crudgington who noticed fog emerging between rocks on his farm. He dug the entrance open and explored the cave. His daughter Margaret Crudgington opened the cave to the public in 1929 under the name Gentrys Cave, then changed the name to Grand Caverns in 1930. The cave has been open to the public, sporadically, ever since, under a variety of names. The name currently in use is Cherokee Caverns."Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains" by Larry E. Matthews, 2008, ISBN 978-1-879961-30-2, Published by the National Speleological Society, Chapter 1 - Cherokee Caverns, pages 17-36. Indian artifacts located in the cave indiate that another entrance to the cave existed at some time in the past. Major highways Interstate highways *Interstate 40 **Interstate 140 **Interstate 640 *Interstate 75 **Interstate 275 *Interstate 3 (Proposed) U.S. Highways *U.S. Routes 11, 11E, and 11W *U.S. Route 25W *U.S. Route 70 (Kingston Pike) *U.S. Route 129 *U.S. Route 441 State Routes *Tennessee State Route 1 (Kingston Pike, Cumberland Avenue, Magnolia Avenue, and Rutledge Pike) – follows United States Routes 70 and 11 (11W when it splits in the east part of the county) *Tennessee State Route 9 (Clinton Highway, Asheville Highway) – follows United States Routes 25W, and additionally in the eastern part of the county, U.S. Routes 70 and 11E *Tennessee State Route 33 (Maryville Pike, Chapman Highway, Henley Street, Broadway, Maynardville Highway) *Tennessee State Route 34 (Andrew Johnson Highway) *Tennessee State Route 61 (Washington Pike and East Emory Road) *Tennessee State Route 62 (Oak Ridge Highway and Western Avenue) *Tennessee State Route 71 (Chapman Highway, Henley Street, Broadway, Norris Freeway) – follows U.S. Route 441 *Tennessee State Route 115 (Alcoa Highway) – follows U.S. Route 129 *Tennessee State Route 131 (Lovell Road, Ball Camp-Byington Road, Beaver Ridge Road, Emory Road, and Tazewell Pike) *Tennessee State Route 158 (Neyland Drive and James White Parkway) *Tennessee State Route 162 (Pellissippi Parkway) *Tennessee State Route 168 (Gov. John Sevier Highway) *Tennessee State Route 169 (Middlebrook Pike) *Tennessee State Route 170 (Raccoon Valley Road) *Tennessee State Route 331 (Tazewell Pike and Emory Road) *Tennessee State Route 332 (Concord Road and Northshore Drive) *Tennessee State Route 475 (a proposed bypass for I-75) Mass Transportation Knoxville Area Transit provides city bus service, while McGhee Tyson Airport features a variety of regional flights to Midwestern and Southern cities. Adjacent counties Demographics data]] As of the census of 2000, there were 382,032 people, 157,872 households, and 100,722 families residing in the county. The population density was 751 people per square mile (290/km²). There were 171,439 housing units at an average density of 337 per square mile (130/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.10% White, 8.63% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 1.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 157,872 households out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.80% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.20% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 11.60% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,454, and the median income for a family was $49,182. Males had a median income of $35,755 versus $25,140 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,875. About 8.40% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over. Cities, communities, and places Cities and towns *Farragut *Knoxville Unincorporated communities *Ball Camp *Bluegrass *Byington *Carter *Concord *Corryton *Gibbs *Halls Crossroads *Hardin Valley *Heiskell *Karns *Kimberlin Heights *Mascot *Mt. Olive *Pedigo *Plainview *Powell *Ramsey *Ritta *Riverdale *Skaggston *Solway *Strawberry Plains *Thorn Grove See also * National Register of Historic Places, Knox County, Tennessee * Knox County Schools References * History of Tennessee From the Earliest Time to the Present: Together With an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of From Twenty-five to Thirty Counties of East Tennessee. (The Goodspeed Publishing Co., Chicago & Nashville), 1887. * Rothrock, Mary U., editor. The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee. (Knox County Historical Committee; East Tennessee Historical Society, 1946). External links *Knox County Government Official Site * *Knox County Charter and Terms Limits Controversy Category:Counties of Tennessee Category:Knox County, Tennessee Category:Knoxville metropolitan area Category:Established in 1792